Magi Tribe: The Purge
by TheMagiSpirit
Summary: When the Cross Rangers of Strategic Command defeated the Black Water, their fight was far from over... This is an epilogue mini-series following on directly from Magi Tribe: Cross Ranger and intended to tie up a few remaining loose threads.
1. Chapter 1

**Epilogue**

 **Magi Tribe: The Purge, Part 1**

Red Cross swung his fire staff through the Black Water grunts before him. Each strike, imbued with the power of the Earth itself, burned away at their forms, dissolving them into nothingness.

o0o

 _Only days after their defeat of the Beast Reborn, the rangers met to discuss what they were going to do next. Despite defeating it's God and it's leader, the Black Water infection still took root in many locations around the world._

" _I've conferred with the Order and we've come up with a plan," said Catherine. "With their help, we should be able to imbue a limited number of weapons with the Earth's power. If it worked when I did it back in the Dome, it should work now."_

 _Ken had initially wanted no part of StratCom after Allison's death, but Robert and Brad had talked him round to the idea on the assumption that he could leave once the Black Water was finally eradicated. "Surely there's too much of Black Water out there for us to handle," he said._

 _Maria grinned, ever playing devil's advocate with his feelings. "How would_ you _feel if your last hope at complete victory had been destroyed?"_

" _I guess I'd try even harder to win…" said Brad, "we_ did _try even harder to win."_

" _Exactly! And I'll bet my life on the fact that the Black Water is running scared. Without leaders or a purpose, they'll make mistakes. They'll be looking for mindless revenge... and find_ us. _Waiting. Prepared."_

 _Outwardly, Ken smiled, but inside he was a wash with turmoil. What if another evil like No-one came out of the woodwork? That was a distinct possibility. None of them knew how the infection worked. It had only ever produced two leaders, but did that mean it was difficult to do? Ken wasn't so sure. And what if the Beast somehow returned? What if, what if, what if…_

 _Frankly he was sick of it all, but he knew if she were alive Allison would hit him and tell him to stop being such a big baby._

 _The worst of it was over._

 _Ken had to believe that._

o0o

 **The Present**

Soon all that was left was the Water Cult's ring leader. A fat, balding Hindu man in what Red Cross supposed had at one time been a suit. Around his neck the ex-man wore a shattered vial that had once contained pure concentrated Black Water. Where he'd got it from was a complete mystery, but it wasn't the first time they'd seen something like it.

As soon as he'd laid eyes on the StratCom strike team led by the Red Ranger, he'd smashed open the vial and drank its contents. One last ditch attempt to serve his fallen God and save his unholy mutant creations. Immediately a new power had overtaken him. He felt a new connection to the heart of the Black Water, and through it he knew that another would take his place should he fail.

"Your mission is futile, red ranger," he said. "There'll always be another like me!"

"Keep it up then!" Red Cross sneered, "because we will _never_ quit!"

The red cross ranger launched himself at the ring leader. Behind him, the strike team laid down cover fire. Their weapons also belched forth Power-imbued rounds that spelt certain death for any Black Water incursion they'd face.

o0o

Ken and Brad found themselves with some unexpected down time. They'd been sent to Australia to assess the damage there. Initially they'd fought one or two cells of Black Water. Little more than a couple of street gangs commanding simple grunt constructs.

After taking down the last of the gangs they could find, they retired to the hotel paying off a cleaner to sneak them in and keep silent about their wounds.

Ever since Brad had met him, Ken had been a quiet man. Only ever speaking when it was necessary. Recently however, he'd taken it to all new lengths. Brad understood what he was going through... or at least tried. He'd never personally lost a family member, let alone a close sibling, but he wanted to believe he could sympathise at a bare minimum.

"We can talk about it, you know," Brad said. "If you like…"

"What do you mean?"

"About Allison."

Ken looked at the floor and he changed his dirtied shirt for a fresh one. "I'm really not in the mood for that."

"I'm sure not you're not, mate, but the thing is I'm not sure anyone is ever ready to talk about death and martyrdom."

Ken twisted his hand around the neck of Brad's shirt and pulled him close. "Get to the point, or so help me.."

"Look. I just want to help you. I want the old Ken back. The stoic. The rock. Without you to keep me grounded, I feel like some pathetic amatuer… playing at being a ranger, following orders with no real heroic intent..."

"So it's all about you, is it?" A frowned formed at Ken's brow. He let him go and folded his arms.

"No, that's not what I'm saying…" Brad paused a moment to figure out what he was going to say. "This team, the Cross Rangers, hell StratCom as a whole… it only works when we're at our best. Catherine doesn't say it, but I know she's always thought of herself as some sort of stand in until a real commanding officer is found to replace her."

When Ken said nothing, Brad continued, just to fill the silence. "We all miss her, you know."

"I know you do, I know." A tear welled up in his eye, but was quickly squashed. Men didn't cry. _Rangers_ didn't cry. "But I just don't think I can do this anymore. The Black Water took my parents, my big sister… what if it takes me next? I feel like I'm living on borrowed time here."

"No one said you _have_ to fight, but, no offence, it's our duty."

"You're right," he shrugged. "Which is why I'm getting out of the game for good once this is all over. I want a future and, I don't think being a ranger is going to allow that."

o0o

"Resonance Advent!" screamed Yellow Cross, throwing her arms out wide. A deep humming tone burst from her and knocked back the gibbering monkey-scorpion hybrids.

Half of them lay unconscious, bleeding from the ears, while the others scattered and ran. "Ugh… stupid things."

 _The source has to be around here somewhere._ The yellow ranger had been trekking across the hills for what felt like days. There was definitely a concentration of Black Water around somewhere, the mutants were getting more and more numerous and she'd seen many bizarre alien fusions of organic and inorganic matter.

The problem was there didn't seem to be a pattern to the infection. She'd found many a stream or pool of water here and there, running black for at most a mile. The only thing she could do was purge them and move on.

It seemed almost as though someone was leading her on a wild goose chase.

Perhaps that was being a little too paranoid. StratCom scientist's theorised that a number of locations worldwide had been seeded by miniscule meteor fragments barely a few millimetres across. 'Splash seeding' they called it - in other words, Black Water falling as rain from the original meteor breaking up high in the Earth's atmosphere.

She'd resolved to give it a few more hours search-and-purge before calling it in as a false lead. As long as there wasn't any big trouble to be found, the Order could blanket purge the area whenever they had the time, wiping out any weak mutant remaining.

o0o

Red Cross pinned the cult leader to the wall. "So why'd you do it?"

"Do _what_?"

"No, it's just… I've never understood why you guys are so quick to throw your lives away and join team evil." He pushed his arm harder against the man's throat. "So go on, tell me. Why?"

With no effort at all the Black Water Cultist pushed back, forcing Red Cross to the ground.

"The world has grown fat and lazy. We forget tradition, religion and all that made past society good and true. The god's are angry, _boy_ , and they've sent the messengers of destruction to wipe the slate clean."

The ranger stumbled to his feet, keeping a distance from his opponent. "You've really lost it, haven't you… see that was my _first_ theory. You're just spouting off gibberish to rationalise swallowing a steaming glob of pure evil. No reason, and certainly no rhyme."

"Those who stand in the way of the Cleansing will perish."

Red Cross reignited his staff and felt the power of the Earth course through it. "That's the general idea, dude."

The cultist convulsed. His skin bubbled, boiled and blistered until it split. Black Water oozed from the sores and formed a shiny black carapace, rounded at the shoulders and covered in chains. A blood curdling scream wrenched itself from his throat as two horns burst through his skull.

Red Cross shook his head. "You guys never learn… We know how to defeat you now. You're done for!"

"It doesn't matter now, _ranger_." The monster leaped forward with inhuman speed and rammed his fists into the red ranger's gut.

Though he toppled backward he used the fire staff to stop his fall. Getting his feet under him, Red Cross pushed off. He broke inside the cultist's reach and took his feet out from under him with the staff. "Eye for an eye."

StratCom troops had surrounded the cultist by the time he'd gotten to his feet. Red Cross stood just out of reach. "You're outnumbered."

"Be that as it may, the more you gloat the more time we have to maneuver," he snarled. "Be careful. Overconfidence will get you in a whole mess of trouble."

"Fancy yourself a fortune teller, do you?"

The cultist relaxed and outstretch his arms, almost as if taunting the soldiers to fire on him. "Something like that."

"At one time I may have given you a second chance, perhaps even appealed to your humanity… I know now, of course, that you stopped being human the moment you threw yourself in with the Black Water." Red Cross turned and walked from the chamber.

He raised his hand, giving the execution order.

o0o

A few weeks after the incident in Australia, Ken sat in a parisian hotel waiting for everyone to get back from their individual missions. These days command had them bouncing from mission to mission. Not one of them had seen their home or familiar bed in months.

Was that what his life had come to? A life on the road. Living out of hotels and secluded motels and his one single suitcase. Hell, he'd even camped alone in the desert for a week.

Not a fun experience.

And the missions kept coming. No sign of a break.

The entire night before he'd laid awake, just taking stock. Being a ranger was driving him away from his friends. No two ways about it.

He'd always be a friend to Rob, for example, but right now he could hardly stand the guy. The more depressed and downtrodden Ken got with it all, the more excited and effervescent Rob was. If anyone was born to be a ranger and a Magi, it was him. A leader and a hero. A courageous, warrior soul with no thought on his mind but defeating evil.

On the other hand, Ken didn't feel like he knew Brad or Maria well enough to 'drift away from them' per se. Sure, he'd spent about year playing student with Brad and they were the closest each other had to an regular human friendship, but that didn't mean they were truly close. Not close like he was to Rob.

Not close like he was… had been with Allison.

Of them all Maria was a symbol of everything he didn't want to become. Hopelessly devoted to some skewed sense of logic that drove her to kill in the name of peace. A true soldier some would say.

Violence would only beget more violence, and someone had to break the cycle, anyone. Except… Ken somehow knew that couldn't be him. What did he have to give? He wasn't charismatic, or driven like the others. He was a follower; a grounding point tying down all the flights of fancy going on around him.

In his opinion, the Order had it right. Purge the infection and move on. Taunting the beast that was the Black Water only lead to more retaliation. They may have been leaderless, but power vacuums only left room for newcomers to take control. It was an intelligent infection, nay, organisation. Not something to be underestimated.

If Ken had his way he'd back out of being a ranger and join StratCom's rescue crews. If anyone was doing the honest work, it was them. He knew Allison would have been be proud of him for making that decision. That was the kind of work she revelled in, most of all. Helping people.

Ken was broken from his thoughts by the door bursting open. On instinct, he almost summoned his morpher. Another reason to hate what he was becoming.

The other three rangers walked in, dragging their battered bags behind them, looking thoroughly worn out.

Rob, who had developed quite the tan from his escapades in India, was the first to speak up. "Well, I tell you what, that's the last I want to see of the ol' bw for a while." He sighed and flopped down onto one of the unoccupied beds.

"We're on top of it though," said Brad, trying to inject a little optimism. "Few months and it'll all be over."

Maria raised an eyebrow. "I like you and all, Green, but you're an utter idiot. This job is like patching a leaking submarine. Plug one hole and two more spring up in its place." She put her bags away neatly beside the wardrobe. "I'd say we've got a while to go yet."

"Way to put a downer on things…" Brad muttered. His ginger hair had gotten rather long recently. His curls fell almost down to his chin.

Ken sighed. "This whole thing's a downer."

"Oh I don't know," said Rob. "Feels good to blow off all this steam. When we beat the Beast I thought it'd go back to the way things were. Boring as all get out!"

" _Boring_? I'd give my leg for boring!"

Brad winced. It was a wince that said 'not this again', and Ken caught it the instant the green magi attempted to sink into the background.

It made him angry, and that was, as they say, it.

" _You_ can all ignore it, but _I_ won't. Being Magi is ruining us." Ken turned to Rob first. "You. You used to be the most laid back person I know. Taking things as they come... Now look at you. How many did you kill in India, Rob? Were they alive underneath the infection or didn't you think to check?"

"Oh sure, 'hey Mr. Monster-Who's-Trying-To-Eat-My-Face. Would you like to hang out sometime?'" Rob shook his head. "Newsflash: They're dead the moment they're infected!"

"Have you forgotten a certain lieutenant called Celeste?"

"Oblivion's gone, Ken." Maria stepped between them. "Cut her losses and ran. If she was alive somewhere the incursion warning system would have picked up her signal."

"That doesn't change anything! Even _after_ being infected, she still held a grudge over our supposed mistreatment of her beloved General Bryant. If that's not a sign I don't know what is..."

"You can't think like that in war, Blue," she said.

"Oh cut it out, Maria. The 'war', as you put it, is over. We won. We should be helping society rebuild, not roaming the globe looking for revenge." Ken rolled his eyes. "I can't hide it any longer. The moment we get back to base I'm call it quits."

"I've said it all before…" Brad sighed. "but you just don't listen. You can't quit now. If we just stop, they'll eventually come back. It's like… like..."

"Cancer, Ken. The Black Water is a cancer." Maria said, finishing Brad's thought for him. "The moment we stop is the moment we lose everything we've worked hard for. You quit now and Allison-"

"Don't you dare say it!" He screamed. "All you lot ever do is use her memory as a way to blackmail me into killing. This is exactly my point. Being a ranger is doing this to us."

"Find me some more rangers," she said, jaw set firm, "and maybe, just _maybe_ , I'll cut you some slack."

He stared at them for a good minute, resolved etched across his face.

Eventually he spoke just one word. "Fine."

o0o

A young woman, swaddled in heavy clothing, looked back at the border station and smiled. Guards, customs agents and asylum seekers alike lay dead on the ground. Behind her lay a vast wake of destruction, stretching as far back as the snow-covered, icy lands of the far north, and none of it could be traced back to her.

She shrugged and continued on, walking for miles and miles with one single goal in mind. Despite the weather getting warmer the further south she went, she stayed covered. Eventually a truck driver took pity on her and offered to give her a lift.

She silently accepted.

"So where you headed, doll?"

The woman dropped her heavy coat and hood to reveal slick black hair that merged seamlessly into her torn black prom dress. Her face was pale. Too pale. Her eyes and teeth just a fraction too big to be human. In places her flesh had been gouged away revealing little beneath. Instead of a right hand, she had a mass of writhing, black tentacles.

A small wriggling bean of Black Water wormed its way out of the corner of her eye and dropped into her palm. She grabbed the truck driver around the neck and forced it down his throat.

For a while he struggled and coughed, trying in vain to rid himself of the infection, but it was too late. All too easily overpowered, he fell silent.

"Take me to Steele City," she ordered, knowing he would be compelled to do anything she told him. "I have some unfinished business there."

"Of course... Mistress Oblivion."

TO BE CONTINUED


	2. Chapter 2

**Epilogue**

 **Magi Tribe: The Purge, Part 2**

"His name is Duane Sloan," said Ken. A 3D image of a young black man sprung to life above the war room's incursion map. Next to the image was a pane of information on him. A college dropout, turned serial jobseeker.

A large blinking question mark hung next to his status. "For a few days now the sensors have been confused as to what exactly he is. One minute he's 100% human and the next he's something else."

Rob frowned. "So he's Black Water? Why haven't we defeated him then?"

"That's the thing, Rob, it's not an incursion signal. It's…" Ken shook his head. "There's no good way to say this. I think he might be a magi."

"What's so bad about that? Isn't that a good thing?" said Brad.

Maria elbowed Brad sharply in the ribs. "Shut up, Green, if you know what's good for you."

Ken narrowed his eyes at his friend. He didn't want to get angry, he didn't want to be that guy, so instead he suppressed it and moved on. "I suppose it _is_ a good thing, but… well … I spoke to the Order about this, hoping they could confirm it for me."

Rob sprang out of his chair with a look of sudden realisation on his face. "He's got Allison's powers hasn't he? Is that what's got you all cut up?"

While Brad sunk deeper into his seat, fully expecting the situation to blow up into another argument, Maria stifled a laugh.

Catherine rolled her eyes. "Let just get it all out in the open shall we? We all miss her, and the prospect of finding a magi with her abilities kind of confirms that she's gone for good, doesn't it..."

Ken merely sighed.

Rob hung his head. "Dude.. I'm sorry, I didn't-"

"You hardly ever think before you speak, Rob, that's your problem" Ken smiled, taking them all by surprise. "But I can't hold that against you. That's just you."

Cadet Ferris switched the display to focus on the blinking question mark. "More than ever our sensors are reading him as not your average human."

Catherine continued for her. "We have to get to him before anyone else. If he manifests at a bad time he could do some serious damage and not just to himself."

"Consider it done," said Rob clapping his hands together. He beamed at the prospect of having a mission that didn't directly involve the Black Water Remnant.

"Hold on a sec," Catherine said, interrupting them before they could leave. "There's something you all need to hear. All lore regarding the Magi says we only manifest fully if there's an evil to defeat. Case-in-point: Manuarii's powers would never have transferred to me if the Black Water didn't exist. So if Duane Sloan _does_ have Allison's power, then that means the Earth thinks there's a clear and present danger. Enough to require a new ranger."

The rangers hung their heads. They'd all been thinking it, but hearing it out loud cemented it in their minds. What need was there for rangers if there were no great evil to be defeated?

"Of course," she continued, "This could just as easily be a trap set by a new enemy we haven't met yet… We don't _know_ what he is after all."

If Catherine Moses thought there was danger then you didn't argue. Her dad had taught her well. Even though she could think of nothing more boring at the time, his lessons had, in some way, sunk in.

"Don't worry," Maria said with a snappy salute. "We'll keep an eye out for anything suspicious."

"I know you will." Catherine turned to the others giving her own salute in return. "Good luck, rangers."

Cadet Ferris caught Catherine's attention at the end of her shift, just as the rangers were leaving to find the potential magi.

"Ma'am? Do you think it's wise bringing in more rangers at a time like this?"

Catherine took a moment to consider her answer. "The best thing we can do is keep the team happy and... Occupied."

"Until the Purge is complete you mean?"

"Yes... of course … How ever long is necessary. You're an intelligent young woman, Sam. Our world is frighteningly lacking in super powered teams like the Cross Rangers. I swear, every day some new evil wannabe tries to carve a chunk out of the world. How long before we get another No One?"

"God forbid." The two stared at each other for a second, before breaking eye contact. Cadet Ferris sighed. "I kinda want it to be over already."

"I wouldn't hold your breath." Catherine winked. "A guy named Murphy has a law for that kind of thing."

* * *

Duane spent the better part of the day trying to ignore what was proving to be impossible to ignore. He'd tried his best not to think about it, but the simple act of distracting himself from the one burning question he most wanted an answer for made him think of it even more.

 _If I'm a superhero then surely I should have a better power than this. Right? Even then, why? Why do I have this power?_

He soon gave up, and, with impeccable playground logic, decided to throw in the towel and join instead of beat.

Standing in a deserted copse within the park, he concentrated on the tiny vibration at the back of his head. It reacted, expanded and grew until, just like before alone in his room, he was able to push the vibration towards his hands. There it flared to life, becoming a strange warming energy that made his skin glow softly even in the middle of the day.

 _Glowboy… Catchy name, I s'pose._ He shook his head. _Not!_

Duane allowed the energy to dissipate. He sighed. It was barely a party trick, unless he found some pressing need to light up dark rooms for people. They could employ him as a night light.

"Oh well." He shrugged, speaking to no one but himself. "At least I can just ignore it, hope I'm losing my mind. That's an option. Right?

Picking up his bag, he walked back to the park's main lawn where most people were content to stay. Nearby was the lake. It had been scoured clean of Black Water and left dry as a reminder of the Cross Ranger's earliest giant battle.

Suddenly he heard a wailing female scream and looked around to find the source.

"Holy... shit."

A giant bird, a featherless eagle with a woman's face, swooped out of the sky, talons bared, straight for his head.

He threw his hands up over his head as though it might offer him some kind of protection from the beasts scythe-like claws. He felt a warmth etch itself across the back of his hand moments before a blinding flash lit the area. The giant bird careened out of control, ripping a chunk out of the glass as it crashed.

When the light had faded, Duane lowered his arms to find a symbol glowing on the back of one of his hands. It looked like a stylised sun surrounded by a circle.

"What the _actual_ hell?"

"You're a light magi."

Four young men and women in StratCom uniforms surrounded him, forming a protective wall in case the bird monster pulled itself together.

"Duane Sloan, right?" said Ken.

"Yeeah.." He raised an eyebrow. "And what's a magi again?"

As the bird stirred, Rob summoned his morpher just to be on the safe side. "A magi is what you are, and the power of the light element is yours to control."

"You're the Cross Rangers, aren't you?"

"Right," said Maria. The rest of them summoned their morphers, "and at the moment, we're the rangers who need to protect you from the Black Water. Guys?"

"Ready!" They replied.

"Cross Form!" Swinging their arms through arcs of power, they shifted into their armour.

"Fire and Metal."  
"Water and Lightning."  
"Earth and Water."  
"Sonic and Fire."

They each struck a pose: "Magi Tribe… Cross Rangers!"

Sucking power in from it's surroundings, corrupting the area with Black Water as she did so, the bird monster transformed into a vaguely feminine, humanoid form. It spoke in a screeching soprano:

"Four? Four?!" She flapped her wings and kicked up a wind that knocked the rangers backwards. "I thought there'd be more of you!"

"Sorry to disappoint," said Green Cross, all the while making sure Duane stayed behind him.

Yellow Cross stepped back into position. "What are you doing here? We wiped all trace of your taint from Steele City _months_ ago."

"A minor setback!" The bird monster dashed forward, barrelling into the rangers and knocking Green and Yellow Cross over with her wings.

Red Cross summoned his Fire Staff. "Flare Blitz" It burst with fire clan energy. He swung it overhead and hurled the weapon at the monster. It hit her, igniting the Black Water that flowed through her mutant veins. She screeched in pain.

"Blinding Advent!" A bright ball of pulsating light shot from behind the rangers, hitting the flailing monster square in the chest. It burst in a blinding flash of light clan power and brought the monster to her knees.

Red Cross spun to see a panting Duane lower his glowing hands. "Nice shot!"

"All this knowledge in my head… I, I don't think I get it, but I had to give it a try." He didn't know why, in any way, shape or form, but it felt right to stand with the rangers. Kind of like being Glowboy wasn't so bad after all.

"The more the merrier," he said.

The rangers ranked up with Duane.

"All Advent!" They called in unison. Gathering together all the energy they could from the seven clans they represented, including the light, they let it go in a glimmering blast of power that incinerated the bird monster at a subatomic level.

Duane stared aghast at the inert ash blowing in the wind. "Did I just?"

It took him a moment to realise that the rangers had depowered and turned from the blast. They began to walk away without him. He shouted after them, "Is this the point where you take me to your leader?"

Rob looked over his shoulder and smiled. "Are you coming or not?"

The rangers and Duane skipped the non-disclosure agreement and the tour and moved straight to the War Room to brief Catherine on what had happened. Protocol had nothing on a Black Water Remnant living and breathing inside the city limit.

Catherine frowned at the sight of a civilian in her war room. Cadet Ferris and a few others almost gasped and the flagrant disregard for the rules. Captain Moses narrowed her eyes at them. She trusted Rob and the others enough to know something was up. Besides, Maria would have kept them in line if they didn't have a good reason.

"What happened?"

Rob tapped the newest magi on the back. "This is Duane."

"Okay," she said, drawing out the vowels. "I'm guessing you didn't get him to sign the proper paperwork."

Ken threw up his hands, "Nuts to paperwork. Bet you didn't know there's Black Water inside the city."

Cadet Ferris recoiled in her seat. Her hands skipped across the keypad in front of her, working to figure out how she could have possibly missed an incursion. Sure the map lit up like a christmas tree when the rangers found Duane, but…

Catherine saw this and touched her gently on the shoulder. She didn't look the least bit phased by the news. "Cadet. Not now..."

Maria stepped forward to confront her. "I know you heard what he just said. I _know_ you did."

She hung her head. "I did, Maria… but we have bigger things to worry about right now."

"Can I make an observation?" said Duane, nodding to the still flustered Cadet Ferris. "I don't really get the history between you guys, but shouldn't we be rangering?"

Brad chuckled. "Rangering?"

"You know, beat up on the bad guys?"

Catherine smiled. "Exactly right, but to do that there are a few things you need know first."

Duane didn't know whether to be pleased that the Cross Rangers seemed to be accepting him as one of their own or frightened. "What kind of things?"

"Hold up," interrupted Rob. "Can we get back to the issue of the remnant right here in Steele City?"

Catherine broke her gaze with Duane and slipped into commander mode. "You've been a four-man team way too long. The Black Water won't get far. For now. We need time to regroup and get Duane up to speed."

Blissfully unaware of what he was doing, Duane spoke up. "So I'm in? Just like that?"

* * *

On the walk home duane found himself lost in thought.

The Cross Rangers had always struck him as more of a clandestine, hush hush organisation, not one that would jump and train just about anyone who showed even a little bit of magic potential.

Of course, he had to remember they were human, and humans, unlike superheroes, were allowed to be afraid. News that the infection was back in Steele City had struck him hard enough. He couldn't imagine what the rangers were feeling knowing that the evil that had taken one of their own was in the city again.

It could just as easily have been that they were eager to have his help because they were at a loss. Because they didn't know what to do if all their hard work unravelled itself.

Still, Duane Sloan the Ranger… It didn't sound right. Was it that easy? Oh you have powers like us, why don't you come and fight the darkness too?

He shook his head. Even though he didn't know _what_ he was going to do, he had orders from the military. After all, he'd signed a binding agreement. He was to gather up his personal belongings and move into StratCom HQ 'for the time being'... whatever that meant. Something about protection, training, non-disclosure of sensitive information, that sort of thing.

His crappy apartment loomed into view as he turned the corner. It was getting dark and difficult to see, but even at night the place looked dingy. Duane stretched out his hand and created a soft glow to light his way.

"At least I get to move out. That's a plus."

As he neared his door he extinguished the magi light and fished around in his pockets for his keys. While he was distracted, a hooded figure dashed around the side of the building and slapped a screwed up piece of paper into his still upturned palm, before making a break for it.

Duane moved to make chase, but by the time he did the person was gone. He shook his head and looked down at the paper.

He unfolded it and read out loud, too tired to care if anyone was listening in:

 _She's lying to you all. You have to tell the Rangers before it's too late_

He turned the note over and then back again. There were no distinguishing marks, unless you counted the signature.

 _signed,_

 _S_.

"S? Who's S? Am I supposed to know an S?" he muttered. "Oh for f- Looks like things are about to get interesting around here."

Duane thrust the mystery note into his pocket and unlocked the door to his ground floor apartment.


End file.
